Jellyfish

The infamous box jellyfish developed its frighteningly powerful venom to instantly stun or kill prey, like fish and shrimp, so their struggle to escape wouldn’t damage its delicate tentacles.

Their venom is considered to be among the most deadly in the world, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. It is so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact.

They are pale blue and transparent in colour and get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell.

Box jellies are highly advanced among jellyfish. They have developed the ability to move rather than just drift, jetting at up to four knots through the water.

They also have eyes grouped in clusters of six on the four sides of their bell. Each cluster includes a pair of eyes with a sophisticated lens, retina, iris and cornea, although without a central nervous system, scientists aren’t sure how they process what they see.

Sea Turtles are not affected by the sting of the box jelly fish and regularly eats them.

Eight clublike mouth-arms act like filters and funnel food to the jelly’s stomach through canals.

People can eat this venomous jelly once it’s been properly dried and stored.

The Chinese believe eating jellies will reduce high blood pressure. Dried jellies are popular in many Asian countries, especially Japan, where they’re considered a culinary delicacy. The texture is reportedly crispy, yet elastic — hence the name “rubber band salad” for a dish sold in China.

The Jelly Blubber's large bell is a creamy white or brown colour, but farther north it is usually blue. This is because the jellyfish has developed a symbiotic relationship with algal plant cells that are kept inside its body. These plants vary in colour from region to region. The algae photosynthesise, converting sunlight into energy that can be used by the jellyfish.!

The Jelly Blubber has no mouth but there are many tiny openings in its tentacles. The tentacles also have stinging cells that can capture tiny crustaceans and other plankton.

These sea jellies, which are made up of 95 per cent water, have evolved and roamed the seas for at least half a billion years. These ancient creatures are boneless, bloodless and brainless, but they outlived dinosaurs.

The tentacles of ribbon jelly contain stinging cells that are used to paralyse their prey. When the nettle touches its victim, the prey becomes attached to the tentacle, and the jellyfish moves the food into its mouth, an opening at the center of its body

Living in the tropical and subtropical waters, these jellyfish prey upon a variety of smaller creatures, such as other jellyfish, ctenophores (comb jellies), zooplankton, and the occasional crustacean. Less common food for the nettles is mosquito larvae and minnows.

Interestingly, there are documented instances of animals such as juvenile or larval crabs using the sea nettles as a means of transportation and perhaps even food. These crabs can attach themselves to the bodies of the jellyfish until they arrive at the shore. Often times the crabs will snack on the nettles on the way there.

With its glassy, almost transparent bell and thin, thread-like tentacles, this jellyfish can be difficult to spot in the water. Washed up on shore, it resembles a thick, gel-like blob, and can still sting when triggered.

Many people think that if you do get stung by a jellyfish, the best thing to do is to urinate on the sting. Not only would that make for an awkward beach activity, it’s also ineffective. Same goes for sprinkling on meat tenderiser, lemon juice, or alcohol.

So, what should you do if you are stung by a jellyfish? Rinsing a sting with vinegar helps prevent venom from being released if any parts of the jellyfish are still attached to your skin.